Drawing attention to perils facing day laborers

In the last two weeks, one Hispanic day laborer suffered a separated shoulder after his arm got stuck in a cement mixer on a job site in Tottenville, according to the Rev. Terry Troia.

Another lost sight in his eye after a hedge scissors toppled on him inside a landscape trailer, she said.

Ms. Troia, who has dealt with both men over the last few weeks through El Centro de Hospitalidad, a day-laborer center in Port Richmond, called the workers' injuries severe, job-related and, increasingly, routine in the world of undocumented, immigrant laborers.

The man with the separated shoulder underwent several surgeries, said Ms. Troia. The worker with the injured eye was driven by his employer to a doctor's office where no x-rays were taken and only a few stitches applied. He still can't see in the eye and must avoid bright light. As a result, he gave up landscaping for a spot in a restaurant kitchen, she added.

"Worker injuries are profound but people take them as a matter of course," Ms. Troia said. "Workers need to know that safety is the law and that the law cares about them -- that the city of New York cares about them."

Yesterday morning, officials from the Buildings Department, the mayor's office of Immigrant Affairs, and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) visited Port Richmond Avenue to talk safety with some of the hundreds of day laborers who line the street early each day waiting for work.

City workers yesterday circulated informational pamplets to day laborers, including one that translated into Spanish words such as harness, hard hat and gloves, as well as commands like call 911, duck, and get out. Factor in language barriers, misinformation and fear of losing work, and the threat to workers on construction sites grows exponentially, experts said.

According to the Buildings Department, there were ?? worker deaths in the borough since 2003. Just last month, Josue Garcia, an immigrant from Guatemala, was killed after falling two stories from the roof of the Grasmere strip mall where he was doing construction.

Speaking through an interpreter yesterday, construction worker Eloy Leon said many laborers are afraid to ask for safety gear for fear of appearing as troublemakers and angering bosses.

"Many times when we ask for protection or safety to cover ourselves, we are not going to have the opportunity to return to that job. If we can't work, we can't support ourselves, which could be worse," he added.